An Orange County barbershop at the heart of a recent controversy with sheriff's deputies will offer free haircuts during an event this weekend.

Strictly Skillz barbershop on Pine Hills Road will offer free haircuts from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday as part of a "Community Day" event the shop announced this week through a spokesman.

The shop was among several targeted in a series of unorthodox licensing inspections conducted by the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation in August and September.

In sweeps of west Orange County shops, deputies made 35 arrests on a "barbering without an active license" charge almost never used for physical arrests in the state.

Strictly Skillz owner Brian Berry said deputies handcuffed him and his barbers in front of customers during an Aug. 21 operation. No licensing violations were reported at Strictly Skillz.

The shop was one of two that recently announced plans to sue the Sheriff's Office and the state licensing agency in connection with the operations. Asked for comment on Saturday's event, sheriff's officials said they wished the shop well.

"The Orange County Sheriff's Office is an agency that always wants to see businesses within its jurisdiction thrive, and never intends to negatively impact revenue," Deputy Chief Ken Cox said in a statement. "We wish Mr. Berry and all of his associates at Strictly Skillz much success in 2011."

Berry said the goal of Saturday's event is to thank customers who have continued to support the shop during the controversy, and to reach out to customers who have not been back since.

"We lost a lot of business when these raids occurred," Berry said in a statement. "It was shocking for our customers, which included a number of children and their parents, to have their haircuts interrupted and see their barbers handcuffed by deputies for no reason."

The shop plans to offer refreshments and entertainment during the event Saturday, as well as free T-shirts for the first 50 customers.

"We hope this will encourage those who may have been scared off by the raids to give Strictly Skillz another try," Berry said.